The pro-theologian emeritus of the pontifical household has questioned the appropriateness of the term “remarried divorcees” canonically and pastorally. Cardinal Georges Cottier said in an interview with Jesuit journal La Civilta Catholica that the term is too generic and is applied in “fundamentally different situations”. The Swiss Dominican described two very different cases which come Read more
The admissions by Planned Parenthood personnel about harvesting the body parts of aborted foetuses have been panned by a US cardinal. Cardinal Sean O’Malley, chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said videos showing the admissions reveal a lack of respect for human life. The undercover videos were recorded by a pro-life non-profit Read more
Parishioners at an English church say they are being driven out by a traditionalist religious order. In June, Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth assigned St Mary’s, Gosport, to the Franciscans of the Immaculate. Since then, parishioners say people are required to kneel to receive Communion and women are asked to cover their heads at Mass. Read more
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York has hit out at US presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s comments on immigration. In an op-ed piece for the New York Daily News, Cardinal Dolan likened Mr Trump’s views to a “virulent strain” of American “nativism”. “Nativists believed the immigrant to be dangerous, and that America was better off without Read more
Cardinal Vincent Nichols would like to see wider use of an initiative to extend a special welcome to lesbian and gay Catholics at a regular Mass. Twice a month, LGBT Catholics join the congregation at a regular Sunday evening Mass at the Jesuit Farm Street Church in central London. A social gathering is held afterwards Read more
Pope Francis is likely to have a new personal physician, but his soon-to-be former doctor will continue to work with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Dr Patrizio Polisca is to leave his post as director of Vatican Health Services and as such will no longer be Francis’s personal physician. But he will continue to be private Read more
A Jesuit moral theologian has taken issue with the labeling of some human acts as “intrinsically evil”. In a presentation at the so-called “shadow council” at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University in May, Fr Alain Thomasset, SJ, described such labelling is one of the main problems in the pastoral care of families. Understanding some acts as intrinsically evil, Read more
Dublin’s archbishop is worried that some Catholics are retreating from dialogue with the present into the false security of imaginary better times. In a speech, Archbishop Dairmuid Martin said while the Church in Ireland would never be what it was 20 or even 10 years ago, things were improving. “But the moment I say that Read more
A new movie about a media investigation into child abuse in the Catholic Church in Boston is said to be “gunning for [an] Oscar [award]”. The first trailer for the drama “Spotlight”, directed and co-written by Tom McCarthy, has been released. The movie, distributed by Open Road Films, tells the true story behind the Boston Read more
One in ten of the 2.2 billion Christians in the world face some degree of restriction, discrimination or outright persecution. British peer David Alton said this amounts to 200 million people in 60 countries. Persecution ranged from murder, rape and torture to repressive laws, discrimination and social exclusion, he said in a Guardian article. One Read more